ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
President's Secretariat
President of India in Tamil Nadu; Inaugurates the Centenary Celebrations of Christian Medical College, Vellore; says there is urgent need for filling the gap in healthcare professionals in our Country
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the centenary celebrations of the Christian Medical College , Vellore today .
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that public health is a global public good and a basic human right. Despite the strides we have taken as a country, there remain regional, rural-urban and gender and community imbalances in terms of health provision. Without adequately addressing these, we cannot rest.
The President said that as societies evolve, economies develop and population patterns change, countries go through epidemiological transitions. India too is experiencing such a transition. It is marked by three challenges in disease control. And we have to manage all three simultaneously. First, India has to reduce maternal and infant mortality as well as communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, vector-borne diseases such as malaria, water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoeal diseases, and vaccine-preventable like measles and tetanus. Second, India has to find an answer to the rise in non-communicable or lifestyle diseases – like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and many cancers. And finally we need to develop systems to detect and cope with new and re-emerging infectious diseases like HIV, avian flu and H1N1 influenza. In a globalised world, with people travelling in and out of our country in larger and larger numbers, a few small cases can very quickly scale up into a large outbreak.
The President said that this three-pronged challenge calls for interventions across the continuum of care. It calls for prevention of disease, promotion of good health practices and treatment and cure in case of an illness. The impact of a health problem is cross-cutting – it affects a variety of sectors. The meeting of this challenge should also follow a multi-stakeholder approach. Government and civil society, private and public health care providers, charitable and economic institutions all have a role and a stake.
Referring the shortage of manpower in the healthcare system, the President said that there is urgent need for filling the gap in healthcare professionals in our country, and to reform medical education so as to create room for more colleges and more medical graduates. Science and technology are most commonly applied to our benefit by engineers and doctors. In India we have 1.47 million undergraduate engineering seats, but only 67,352 undergraduate medical seats. And about 20 per cent of those seats were added in the past four years. As a country and a system, we need to address this gap quickly.
The President said that doctors need a sharp mind – but much more than that, they need a warm heart. He urged CMC Vellore to continue to train doctors and nurses with warm hearts.
Later in the day, the President will also inaugurate the Kidney Transplant Unit and Cardiac Unit of the Sri Narayni Hospital and Research Centre, Vellore.
Prime Minister's Office
PM urges all eligible voters on the occasion of National Voters’ Day to register themselves and use their right to vote
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has urged all eligible voters on the occasion of National Voters’ Day to register themselves and use their right to vote to strengthen the democracy.
“Greetings to everyone on National Voters’ Day. Congratulations to the Election Commission of India, which was founded on this day.
I urge all the eligible voters, particularly youngsters, to register themselves and strengthen our democracy with their participation. The power of a vote is immense”, the Prime Minister said.
Ministry of Defence
Commissioning of Seventh Ship of Landing Craft Utility MK-IV ‘INLCU L57’  at Port Blair – 15 May 2020
Lieutenant General PS Rajeshwar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Commander-in-Chief A&N Command, commissioned INLCU L57 into the Indian Navy on 15 May 2020 at Port Blair.INLCU L57 is the seventh Landing Craft Utility  MK-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy. The ship has been indigenously designed and built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers , Kolkata. The commissioning of INLCU L57 is yet another manifestation of the country’s indigenous design and ship building capability.
The LCU MK-IV ship, is an amphibious vessel with a designated primary role of transporting and deploying Main Battle Tanks, Armoured Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. Based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, these ships can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.
The ship, commanded by Lieutenant Commander HarshvardhanVenugopal, has a complement of five officers, 45 sailors and is capable of carrying 160 troops in addition. The ship, displacing 830 tonnes, is capable of transporting various kinds of combat equipment such as Main Battle Tanks Arjun, T72 and other vehicles. The ship is fitted with state-of-art equipment and advanced systems, like Integrated Bridge System  and Integrated Platform Management System .
The last ship of the same class is at an advanced stage of construction at M/S GRSE, Kolkata, and is scheduled to be inducted by this year end. It is anticipated that induction of these ships will contribute to the nation’s maritime security needs, in consonance with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s drive for ‘Make in India’.
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation
RELEASE OF SUSPENDED MPLAD FUNDS
MPLADS Funds released to the District Authority by the Government of India are non-lapsable. Funds left in the district can be carried forward for utilization in the subsequent years. Further, the funds not released by the Government of India in a year will be carried forward for making releases in the subsequent years subject to the fulfillment of criteria stipulated in Paragraph 4.3 and Para-4.4 of MPLADS Guidelines, 2016.
Any unspent balance out of the annual allocation of a particular Member of Parliament shall be carried forward and added to the annual allocation for that Member of Parliament for the subsequent Financial Year and the drawing limits of his account with Nodal District Authority shall be fixed accordingly [Para-10.4.4 of MPLADS Guidelines, 2023].
MPLADS funds to the tune of Rs.6320 crore, i.e., Rs.3,950 crore for the Financial Year  2020-21 and Rs.2,370 crore for the FY 2021-22, were placed at the disposal of the Ministry of Finance for managing the health and adverse impacts of Covid-19 on the society for stepping up capital outlay including health infrastructure and various social security measures for the poor and the needy.
This information was given by the Minister of State  for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Ministry of Planning and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
Arrival of Prime Minister to Dhaka
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi arrived in Dhaka for his visit to Bangladesh at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This is the historic visit to celebrate Mujib Borsho- the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ; 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh; and 50 years of Bangladesh’s war of liberation.
In a special gesture, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Ministers from her cabinet welcomed Prime Minister Modi at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
A salute of 19 guns and Guard of honour were accorded to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Tribal Affairs Ministry has taken up several initiatives to promote leadership qualities and talent among tribal youth
GOAL  is a joint initiative of Ministry with Facebook for digitally-enabled mentorship and empowering tribal youth to become leaders in their area of interest. Through GOAL initiative, renowned people from industry, arts, politics, business etc., known for their leadership skills or roles, are mobilized to personally mentor tribal youth through digital medium. GOAL program has so far covered 23 States / UTs.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs continuously strives for fostering partnerships with reputed organizations working for the welfare of tribal like Microsoft, Art of Living Foundation, Tata Foundation, SECMOL aimed at taking project with community participation and for creating awareness about leadership among tribal youth.
Further NESTS an autonomous organization under Ministry has collaborated with CBSE and National Council of Educational Research and Training  for Innovation Ambassador Programs and National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement  to build capacities of teachers and students and to identify hidden talent amongst tribal youth.
Ministry in partnership with IIPA has started initiative of Tribal Talent pool, in order to get connect with Tribal talent of 4000 research scholars funded by Ministry for doing PhD, harness their strength by understanding their areas of interest and empowering them to develop as entrepreneurs, researchers and make them aware about various other schemes of Govt of India for their welfare.
This information was given by Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta in Lok Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM condoles demise of noted Sanskrit scholar Ved Kumari Ghai
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief over the demise of noted Sanskrit scholar Ved Kumari Ghai.
The Prime Minister's office tweeted;
"Saddened by the demise of Ved Kumari Ghai Ji, a stalwart of Sanskrit literature. Her immense contributions enriched our cultural heritage. Her works will continue to inspire scholars. My condolences to her family and admirers. Om Shanti: PM"
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Cabinet approves “PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operations; priority to cities having no organized bus service
10,000 e-Buses to be deployed on PPP model in 169 cities; Infrastructure to be upgraded in 181 cities under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives
Total estimated cost of the scheme to be Rs.57,613 crore
Expected direct employment generation over 45,000
The Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved a bus scheme “PM-eBus Sewa” for augmenting city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on PPP model. The Scheme would have an estimated cost of Rs.57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs.20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government. The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
Reaching the Unreached:
The scheme will cover cities of Three lakh and above population as per census 2011 including all the Capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States. Under this scheme priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.
Direct Employment Generation:
The scheme will generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs through deployment of around 10,000 buses in city bus operation.
The Scheme has two segments:
Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services:
The approved bus scheme will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on Public Private Partnership  model.
Associated Infrastructure will provide support for Development/ up-gradation of depot infrastructure; and Creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure  for e-buses.
Segment B– Green Urban Mobility Initiatives : 
The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, Charging infrastructure, etc.
Support for Operation: Under the scheme, States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators. The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidy to the extent specified in the proposed scheme.
Boost to E-Mobility:
- The scheme will promote e-mobility and provide full support for behind-the-meter power infrastructure.
- Cities will also be supported for development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.
- The support to bus priority infrastructure shall not only accelerate the proliferation of state-of-the-art, energy efficient electric buses but also foster the innovation in the e-mobility sector as well as development of resilient supply chain for electric vehicles.
- This scheme shall also bring in economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.
- Adoption to Electric mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emission.
- Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction.
Special Service and Features
Digital Rupee
New Delhi: Sept 5, 2023
“Central Bank Digital Currency” or “Digital Rupee” or “e₹” is the digital form of India’s currency, the Rupee. It is akin to sovereign paper currency but takes a different form and is exchangeable at par with the existing currency, the Rupee. As a central bank liability, e₹ provides the public with a risk-free medium of exchange and represents a safe store of value. e₹ offers features of physical cash like trust, safety, and instant settlement finality and is non-interest bearing.
2The key motivations for exploring the issuance of CBDC include reduction in operational costs involved in physical cash management, adding efficiency to the settlement system, boosting innovation in cross-border payments space, fostering financial inclusion, providing public with uses that any private digital objects/ tokens can provide and be future ready, without the associated risks.
The introduction of CBDC in India by the RBI required an enabling legal framework. The Government of India vide gazette notification dated March 30, 2022 notified the necessary amendments in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, conferring the status of legal tender to ‘Digital Rupee’, thus, enabling the commencement of pilots. The RBI is presently engaged in working towards a phased implementation strategy before a decision on the final launch is taken. The pilots commenced on November 1, 2022 for wholesale e₹ and on December 1, 2022 for retail e₹.
The wholesale pilot for secondary market settlement of government securities allows simultaneous settlement of funds and securities avoiding the need of central counterparties  charges and settlement guarantee infrastructure or need for collateral for settlement risk.
In the retail pilot, e₹ can be held or used to carry out transactions by digital wallets provided by banks. The retail pilot tests the robustness of the entire process of digital rupee creation, distribution and retail usage in real time. e₹ is issued in the same denominations that paper currency and coins are currently issued. In the current design, e₹ is distributed by a two-tier model where it is created by RBI and distributed through banks.
The pilot started with four cities and four banks and has now been expanded to include thirteen banks and twenty-six locations and has more than 1.75 million users and merchants.
The e₹ pilots have been successful in testing the legal, operational and technical preparedness as well as accounting treatments required for e₹ issuance. It has also helped in understanding the user and merchant behaviour and requirements. Based on the experience gained, different use cases and technical architecture will be tested in future pilots. Features like offline usage to provide resiliency and availability in the absence of network and programmability i.e., tying the use of funds to specific use cases are also being considered.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves Amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels -2018
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels -2018.
The “National Policy on Biofuels - 2018” was notified by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 04.06.2018 in supersession of National Policy on Biofuels, promulgated through the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, in 2009.
Due to advancements in the field of Biofuels, various decisions taken in the National Biofuel Coordination Committee  meetings to increase biofuel production, recommendation of the Standing Committee and the decision to advance to introduce Ethanol Blended Petrol with up to twenty per cent ethanol throughout the country from 01.04.2023, amendments are done to the National Policy on Biofuels.
The following are the main amendments approved to the National Policy on Biofuels:
- to allow more feedstocks for production of biofuels,
- to advance the ethanol blending target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol to ESY 2025-26 from 2030,
- to promote the production of biofuels in the country, under the Make in India program, by units located in Special Economic Zones / Export Oriented Units ,
- to add new members to the NBCC.
- to grant permission for export of biofuels in specific cases, and
- to delete/amend certain phrases in the Policy in line with decisions taken during the meetings of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
This proposal will also attract and foster developments of indigenous technologies which will pave the way for Make in India drive and thereby generate more employment.
The existing National Policy on Biofuels came up during year 2018. This amendment proposal will pave the way for Make in India drive thereby leading to reduction in import of petroleum products by generation of more and more biofuels. Since many more feedstocks are being allowed for production of biofuels, this will promote the Atmanirbhar Bharat and give an impetus to Prime Minister’s vision of India becoming 'energy independent' by 2047.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Dhritiman Chatterjee inaugurates a special segment on celebrating 100 years of Satyajit Ray 51st IFFI Goa
Panaji, 17 January 2021
The well known Bengali actor Dhritiman Chatterjee inaugurated a retrospective of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray at 51st IFFI Goa on the second day of the film festival.
Dhritiman Chatterjee began his film career in 1970 as the protagonist of Satyajit Ray’s ‘Pratidwandi’.
IFFI will showcase following five films of Satyajit Ray as part of this tribute:
- Charulata  – The critically acclaimed film is based on Rabindranth Tagore’s classic work and tells the story of a lonely young wife.
- Ghare Baire  – The film is a romantic drama set against the backdrop of Bengal’s partition in which the female protagonist is caught between the two opposing ideologies.
- PatherPanchali  - The first in the Apu trilogy, the film is a poignant tale of childhood based on a novel written by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.
- Shatranj Ke Khilari  – Adapted from Premchand’s short story, the film is set on the eve of the 1857 war of Independence.
- Sonar Kella  – This national film award winner is one of the earliest adventures of Ray’s detective Feluda.
Speaking during the occasion, Chatterjee called Ray’s cinema as timeless, relevant and contemporary. He pointed out that Ray was the master of all the crafts associated with film making. Chatterjee highlighted eminent filmmaker’s simplicity in making economical but world class films. He commended Ray’s humanism, and the ability to look at any human situation with sympathy and without any form of condemnation.KS/ND/DR/IFFI-14
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Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, this September is being celebrated as the Poshan Maah across country to address the malnutritional challenges. Rastriya Poshan Maah or National Nutrition Month is being launched across the country. With Women & Child Development as the nodal Department, a month-long activities focussing on antenatal care, anaemia, growth monitoring, girls’ education, diet, right age of marriage, hygiene and sanitation, eat healthy as themes are being showcased in form of food melas, rallies, school level campaigns, anaemia test camps, recipe demonstration, radio & TV talk shows and seminars all across country.
The month-long intensive event plans to bring about convergence amongst various ministries/departments to rally people’s opinion and participation to reduce and finally eliminate malnutrition from the country. Poshan Maah aims at making people aware of the importance of nutrition and giving individual access to government services to support supplement nutrition for their children and pregnant women/lactating mothers.
This year Poshan Maah focuses on five critical components - ‘First 1000 days of the Child, Anaemia, Diarrhoea, Hand Wash & Sanitation and Poshtik Aahar ’, called ‘Paanch Sutras’.
On 4th September, Poshan Maah was launched in Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
In Assam, a ceremonial launch of Poshan Maah 2019 was done today by the State Governor, Professor Jagdish Mukhi at Guwahati.
A grand event was organised in Patna, Bihar to launch Poshan Maah. The event was inaugurated by Minister of Department of Social Welfare, Ramsevak Singh.
Madhya Pradesh, too, had a mega launch of Poshan Maah today. The event was graced by Minister of Department of Women and Child Development, Imarti Devi along with ex- Member of Parliament, Jyotiraditya Scindia.
In Rajasthan, a grand function was organised at Jaipur which was attended by Minister of Department Health, Raghu Sharma, Minister of Department of Women and Child Development, Mamta Bhupesh and Minister of Department of Education, Govind Singh Dotasara. “Thank You Anganwadi Didi” video was played on the launch of festivities.
On similar footing, Tamil Nadu as well had a splendid launch ceremony which observed the participation of Ministers and Senior Officials.
This year, Rashtriya Poshan Maah, is being celebrated with the aim to create a Jan Andolan to imbibe behavioural changes into daily lives of the masses, with the slogan “Poshan Tyohar Se Vyavahar”.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
Date of Filing Electronic Challan Cum Return  for Wage Month March, 2020 Extended Up to 15.05.2020 from 15.04.2020
Move Incentivises About 6 Lakh Establishments for Salary Payments During Lockdown Period
Considering the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19 and lockdown announced by the Central Government from 24.03.2020 midnight onwards to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the due date for filing of Electronic Challan Cum Return  for wage month March, 2020 is extended up to 15.05.2020 for employers who have paid wages to their employees for March, 2020.
The due date for March, 2020 is ordinarily 15.04.2020, so grace period of thirty days has been allowed to the establishments covered under EPF & MP Act, 1952 to remit the contributions and administrative charges due for March, 2020
The above decision of Ministry of Labour and Employment is to support and provide relief to Employers of establishments which have disbursed wages for March, 2020 to its employees and an incentive to employers for wage payment to employees during COVID-19 pandemic. The move is in keeping with the objective of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to prevent disruption in employment and ensure earning to employees to help them fight the pandemic.
This relief will benefit about 6 lakh establishments to file ECRs without default by paying salary to about 5 crore employees.
The employers have to declare the date of disbursement of wage for March, 2020 in the ECR for March, 2020.
The ECR, with the said declaration, and contributions and administrative charges for March, 2020 are now due on or before 15.05.2020.
The employers disbursing the wages for March, 2020 not only get relief of extension of due date for payment of EPF dues for March, 2020 but also avoid liability of interest and penalty, if they remit on or before 15.05.2020.